SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. – The No. 1 ranked Parkland College men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season 95-86 at South Suburban College on Tuesday, January 9. The Cobras (15-1) fell behind early and couldn't bounce back against the Bulldogs (15-1), failing to take the lead in a game for the first time all season. Sophomore Jabryn Anderson led the Cobras in scoring with 28 points, and sophomore Brylan Phillips (14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists) led the team in rebounds and assists in the loss.
 
"The credit goes to South Suburban for the win," Parkland head coach John Bowler said after the game.
 
"On our end, we really lost the game over about an eight-minute stretch. We allowed (South Suburban) to dictate the tempo and get out in transition. A lot of that stemmed from our mistakes, and we need to clean that up on our end and respond to this," Bowler concluded.
 
Parkland trailed 17-8 early in the first half when Bowler called his first timeout following a 7-0 South Suburban run, and the Cobras closed the gap out of the timeout. Redshirt freshman Drew Lewis Jr. knocked down a three with 5:40 until halftime to cut it to 36-31, but South Suburban closed the half strong and led Parkland 49-36 at the break. The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half, growing their lead to as large as 20 points with 17:02 remaining. Out of a timeout, the Cobras put together a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 64-51 with 13:43 left, forcing a South Suburban to call timeout. Parkland continued to chip away, slowing down the opposing offense and trimming the South Suburban lead to 82-69 with 7:51 to go. Both defenses increased the intensity down the stretch, but the Cobras couldn't reel the Bulldogs into striking distance, and Parkland lost 95-86.
 
Scoring Summary:
Jabryn Anderson: 28 points, 12-15 FG, 3 rebounds
Drew Lewis Jr.: 18 points, 7-7 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Brylan Phillips: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists
Isaac Mapson III: 11 points, 3 rebounds
 
Up next, Parkland begins conference play on Saturday, January 13, when Lewis & Clark Community College comes to Champaign. Tip-off against the Trailblazers (2-9) is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.